Tiếng Việt
中文Quick answer: Yes, this is a prohibited unfair competition practice. Under Clause 2, Article 45 of the Competition Law 2018, coercing customers or business partners of another enterprise by threats or coercion to force them not to transact or to stop transacting with that enterprise is a prohibited unfair competition practice.
Legal basis
- Competition Law 2018 (Articles 3, 45, 90);
- Decree 75/2019/ND-CP (as amended by Decree 102/2026/ND-CP, effective from 20/5/2026).
What is an unfair competition practice?
Under Clause 6, Article 3 of the Competition Law 2018: an act of an enterprise contrary to the principles of good faith, honesty, commercial customs and other business standards, causing or likely to cause damage to the lawful rights and interests of another enterprise.
Related services
Business Licenses and Conditional Business Sectors
If your business is preparing an application, amendment, business line registration or licensing review, ANT Legal can help check the file and execution path.
Prohibited unfair competition practices (Article 45)
- Infringing business secrets;
- Coercing customers or business partners of another enterprise by threats or coercion to force them not to transact or to stop transacting;
- Providing untruthful information about another enterprise;
- Disrupting the business operations of another enterprise;
- Illicitly soliciting customers;
- Selling goods or providing services below total cost to eliminate competitors.
Penalties for coercion in business
Under Decree 75/2019/ND-CP (as amended by Decree 102/2026/ND-CP), coercing customers or business partners of another enterprise is subject to monetary fines (detailed fine levels should be checked against the current consolidated text), with additional penalties: confiscation of exhibits and means of violation and confiscation of profits obtained from the violation.
Case handling timeline (Article 90)
Within 15 days from receipt of a complete dossier, the Chairperson of the National Competition Commission issues a decision on handling, requests additional investigation (30 days), or suspends the case.
If your enterprise is being targeted by a competitor coercing its partners to stop trading, you should collect evidence and contact ANT Legal’s lawyers for a review and advice on handling options before taking action.
